Daughter of Artemis
by Anneliese1212
Summary: Crossover with Troy. This is the story of where Buffy really came from, how she got back, and the surprises that were waiting for her when she got there.
1. Default Chapter

So sorry I forgot to put the disclaimer up before. I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the movie Troy. No money's being made off this fic, etc, etc.

A/N: There will be some elements of real mythology which you will begin to see in the next one or two chapters. Also, I have already done an outline and have a couple more chapters written (badly) so the pairing is already set. It will not be B/A, and no I will not change my mind about that. I'm sorry if this doesn't please some of you but I will NEVER write B/A. I don't like it. For all the rest of you, I hope you enjoy:-)

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She stood in the water watching her children play on the shore, both as golden as the sun god. Their innocence showed through in the way they played with each other. She could not help but smile as she watched them pretend they were sword fighting with beach wood. Her boy would be a great warrior someday.

_He might even be a legend,_ she thought sadly.

She had a vision, before her son was born, about Troy and his doom and had been watching him his whole life to try and predict which path he would choose. He was proud, even now in his childhood. Every night before she went to bed she prayed to the gods that he would not choose what she thought he would, that he would choose a long mortal life instead of a short one where fame and recognition came after he died. She did not want to outlive her son, especially when she knew she would probably outlive her daughter.

Turning her attention back to finding sea shells for her daughter's necklace, she thought about the betrothal that her husband had negotiated last week. How ironic it was that the place that her son would probably die would be the place his sister would have been a princess. The boy, Hector, was a few years older than Achilles and was turning out to be quite worthy of his birthright, prince and future king of Troy. She had seen him once, soon after her daughter was born and she remembered him to be a handsome child. If only Laria would be around to wed him.

Unlike her son's fate, she knew that her daughters' was set. The gods would be taking her from them soon to a place that she did not know of, a place that was not on any map that she would ever see. Although it was possible that she would go to the underworld, her vision did not make her think that she would die just yet. She would die before her time, but she would be taken from her family much sooner than that would happen.

She looked up when she heard the sound of a splash and turned her head towards her children. Laria had slipped on a wet stone and fell in the water. She was about to walk over to her daughter and try to stop her tears when she saw Achilles go to her and pick her up in his arms.

_My boy is so strong, stronger than all the other boys his age. Soon he will be old enough to fight in the wars he dreams of_.

Watching her son wipe her Laria's tears gave her hope that the tenderness he showed her was a portent to the man he would become. It was a bittersweet thought however, because she knew the likelihoods of the future.

Laria's tears did not seem to let up at all but, enjoying the scene her children were giving her, she did not interfere. Achilles was not patient but he was also not stupid. She watched as he picked up her stick and tried to give it to her but Laria would have nothing of it. She turned her back on him, crossed her arms, and put her head on her knees. Achilles tried once again to give her the stick and she ignored him. Giving up with friendliness, he turned to the one thing that always got to Laria, and, whether he knew it or not, himself. He decided to bring about some of her ire and was taunting her.

"I knew you wouldn't be able to do it. You would make a horrible warrior; you're just a puny girl. I'm going to see if Xanathos is back from town yet, at least he would be a challenge!" he said as he started to walk away.

"I can too! I'm going to be a great warrior someday, even better than you!" she said as she chased after him.

"I don't think so, little one," he commiserated, "at times you show promise but then you falter. Warriors don't falter. You never heard of Hercules falling down and crying did you?"

"I wasn't crying, I just got sand in my eyes is all. Give me my sword and I'll show you who is a better warrior brother."

Achilles smiled as he gave the 'sword' back to his sister with great ceremony.

"We will see who is the better warrior sister," he said and proceeded to swing his stick around, starting the game all over again.

_The resilience of my children never ceases to amaze me_.

Seeing that all was well, she continued to look for more shells to make Laria's necklace. She wanted her to always have something to remember her family by. Someday, she might come home. It was a feeble wish, she knew, but as long as her daughters' true death was at bay, there would always hope. With hope in her heart, she started to dream up a future for Laria.

Prince Hector would be a good match for Laria's fiery spirit. Already they called him 'the tamer of horses', a title that said much about his character. To be named such meant that he would have to be patient, which is certainly a trait he would need with Laria, but he would also have to be firm. Back his words up with action. That would quickly gain the respect of her daughter who was intolerant of deceit and impressed by results.

Their children would be beautiful. She reflected on Hector's dark features and her daughter's golden ones and tried to envision the children they would sire.

Wiping a tear from her face she started to walk back towards the shore. She would make the necklace for her daughter and hope that someday she would return and that the necklace would make her remember. It would not matter if she knew her name, if she knew her city of Larissa.

_If only she could remember something of us, of this day, of the love we have for her and the love she has for us_.

She cleared the dark thoughts from her head, put a bright smile on her face, and prepared to savor the last few days she had with the whole of her family.

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Please Review . . .


	2. Home Again

When Buffy woke up, she ached all over. She did a mental inventory of her body and she honestly couldn't think of a single body part that wasn't screaming to be stretched or rested. She opened her eyes and found she was sensitive to the light as well.

_This sucks_.

Doing a little peak-a-boo exercise with her eyes, she finally got them used to the light enough so that she could take a look around. What she saw surprised her.

She was laying on a cot in a very nondescript room. Nondescript except for all the statues of a man with a bow and arrow with little wings on his feet.

_I'm in a Temple of Apollo?_

Just then she remembered everything. Everything the powers had made her forget because they knew if she could remember, she would eventually be able to find a way home. She thought about everything she had accomplished; killing the Master, a giant snake demon, defeating a goddess, saving the world from being sucked into hell at various points in time.

_They knew I'd be able to do all that. They knew that I would be able to find a spell and someone to perform it for me if I remembered. It's what I've been looking for for a long time now, an escape. Home would have been the perfect escape . . ._ she thought as a tear found its way down her cheek.

She looked down to see what was in her hand and saw a necklace made of seashells.

_Mother made this for me just days before they took me away from them,_ she thought as she closed her fist around it tightly.

She never had the chance to mourn the loss of her family before, they had been swiped from her memory before she had the chance. But she remembered the mother and father that she had learned to love, the friends that she had, and the life she made for herself. Now she had the chance to mourn the loss of two completely different lives all at the same time. That was when Whistler's entrance interrupted her thoughts.

Buffy looked at him and had only one thing to say: "You bastard."

"Watch your language kid, you're in a holy place in case you didn't notice."

"Oh, I noticed all right. What the hell is going on?"

"I think you know kid. You're back where you belong. And before you start blaming the powers for this, let me tell ya, you really pulled one over their heads. This is a completely unscripted return that you've made."

"You better start making with the explanations. Now."

"I figured you'd say that. This is what happened kid, I'm sorry to tell you that you're valiant intentions of sacrificing yourself for your sister didn't quite work out for you, I really am. The thing is, no blood stopped flowing. You're still alive, right? When you went into that portal, somehow you were able to bend it to your will. Since Dawns' blood and yours are the same, you did have a measure of control over the portal so instead of being sent to hell, you were sent to the only other place you could imagine. Well, your unconscious could imagine at least. So there ya go. I'm sorry, but Dawn had to take the dive when she saw that the portal didn't close when you jumped."

When she thought about Dawn, she felt this emptiness within her that used to be filled with love and protectiveness. She would have done anything for Dawn, she knew that, but for some reason she really didn't seem all that important to her anymore.

"But why don't I feel anything? You just told me my sister is dead and I don't really care."

"Your memory of her is starting to adjust kid. You'll be remembering her more and more as just the 'Key'. It's what always happens when it goes from place to place."

"It's just that . . . well, it just seems wrong."

"You'll get used to it. Soon it will seem normal and the guilt you're having for not feeling anything about it will go away."

She acknowledged his answer with a nod. Already she knew what he was talking about. Peace was invading her ravaged mind and erasing the guilt and pain like a wave erases footsteps in the sand.

Lost in thought, she did not notice that Whistler left. She was just getting really worked up about the fact that she didn't know what the powers had in mind for her now when a priest walked into her room.

"Ah, you have awoken at last, my lady. We found you on the steps of our temple, a gift from the gods. You must come with us now, King Priam will want to see you."

_A gift from the gods?_ Buffy inwardly grimaced at the thought, _This guy has no clue_.

She struggled to get up and he moved over to her to give her aid. When she finally was sitting up straight, she began to feel much better. Things were in better focus and she didn't feel like she was going to fall back to sleep. He helped her get to her feet and Buffy found that she could walk reasonably well after a few moments practice.

"Thank you . . ." she trailed off because she didn't know his name.

"It is Lysander, my lady."

"Well, thank you Lysander. Let us go to the city then and talk with the King. He must be waiting for us."

"Indeed he is my lady. However, there are some soldiers that will take you to him as well. It is important that you arrive there safely." he answered her as they started walking out of the temple.

The soldiers were waiting for them outside the temple and they surrounded Buffy and Lysander as they walked to the city. None of them would speak to her.

They made their way silently through the city to wherever they were going.

_I hope we get there soon, I'm getting tired of all these steps, _she thought as they reached the top of yet another stairway.

This was the one though. The soldiers opened the doors and Buffy was greeted with a pleasantly cool breeze. The room she entered was cavernous and had big open balconies that looked out onto what must be the Aegean. In the center of the room sat King Priam with his sons on either side of him. There was a long rectangular pool in front of him where his advisers sat.

_I guess it's time for a repeat of the Spanish Inquisition. On second thought, maybe a prequel_.

The soldiers and the priest bowed to King Priam and his sons, and, really not wanting to get on her hosts bad side, Buffy followed suit. They stayed that way until the King made a motion with his hand. As Buffy stood up, she took a better look at King Priam. He was very old but had a kind face and carried himself with a sense of power that only comes from being King. Then she noticed the way his people looked at him. These people loved their ruler and for that, he had Buffy's respect.

"Welcome, my dear, to Troy. I am King Priam and these are my sons, Prince Hector and Prince Paris. We have much to speak of, will you not take a seat?" he said while motioning to a spot near his throne.

Buffy bowed her head and followed the three of them back to where they were sitting.

Buffy could not help but notice how different the Prince's were from each other, before they even spoke to her. She could tell Hector would be a good ruler someday, a good King. His love for his city and his capability to protect it practically oozed out his pores.

_And look at those baby blues,_ Buffy thought after she took a quick interested glance.

Paris, on the other hand, was clearly the younger brother, the one who got everything he wanted and got away with everything. While she could tell he loved his city, he did not have the skill or knowledge to ever rule it successfully. He was also missing the telltale scars that meant he had, and would, fight for it.

As they all settled in, King Priam began to question her.

"It seems that Apollo has dropped you off on my doorstep, my dear. Do you have any idea why he would do that?"

Buffy was about to answer when someone intercepted.

"Today a calf was born in perfect health and fitness; this is a good omen for Troy. She does not bring evil tidings, my lord."

"Thank you, that is very good to know." King Priam answered and brought his attention back to the girl sitting before him.

Taking his attention as her queue to answer his original question, Buffy cleared her throat and mentally hiked up her sleeves. This was not going to be a comfortable couple hours.

"He was bringing me home, King Priam. I have been away for a very long time, the gods must have thought the way I arrived must have seemed like the best way to go about things. I am sorry if you have been inconvenienced, my lord." Buffy said, deciding to go with the whole 'Apollo' thing.

_All you wanna do is get home, girl. If you gotta kiss a little ass to make it happen then that's ok. As long as you don't have to do it for long_.

"Well, we can do nothing but aid the will of the gods, my dear. Tell me, what is your name and where do you come from. Troy will see that you get home safely." King Priam answered.

_See, it's going to be just fine_.

"Thank you, King. I have been going by another name for quite some time now but my true name is Laria. I am Laria, daughter of Peleus and I hail from Larissa. Any aid you can give me would be very much appreciated."

Buffy noticed that when she made that revelation, nearly everyone sat up a little straighter and there was suddenly quite a bit of conversation going on where before there was silence. Paris looked at her with open interest and curiosity and Hector looked at her as if he had not really seen her before then. His gaze was honest in the fact that it showed a bit of shock and he turned to his father and said something in his ear. After a moment, Priam nodded his head and bid the two princes to leave.

_What the hell is going on? Father was King of the Myrmidons but they wouldn't have heard of me. I was much too young when I was taken away to have met them and Father was not the type to share his pain_.

King Priam stepped off his throne and bent down to her. He lifted his hand and raised her face so he could see her better.

"There is no hint of a lie within her eyes." He announced to the room.

To Buffy he said, "We shall go to my suites and talk more of your journey, Princess. Wait here a moment."

_It's been a long time since anyone has called me that without having some serious sarcasm in their voice,_ Buffy thought, a little startled.

He then spoke to his advisor for a few moments and several people left the room. When he was finished, her smiled at her and took her hand. They started walking in the direction Hector and Paris had gone.

"You will have to forgive us old men, my dear, it does not take much to shake our foundations and you are quite a surprise to behold." he said as he patted her hand.

"Why is it such a surprise my lord?"

"Because we all thought you had died."

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Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Anna: You asked what a "B/A" is. It is a Buffy/Angel relationship. The reason I put the warning in the Authors Notes was to prevent a reviewer I seem to always get from begging for the pairing. It can be blatantly obvious what the pairing is going to be and this individual will still ask for the pairing. It wouldn't bother me so much if the person would actually review my story with more than "nice so far" and then go into lines of "B/A ALWAYS! I don't like anything but B/A really so can you make it B/A! pweaze?" I was just trying to prevent some frustration on my part. Unfortunately, the revier didn't get the hint and I still got a review like that from them last chapter. Thanks for listening to my rant by the way. :-)

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As always, reviews and constructive criticism is welcome. 


	3. Elephant in the Room

Major thanks go out to the wonderful FaithUnbreakable, my beta-reader. The patience that girl has with me . . . you wouldn't believe it. Enjoy!

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As Buffy lay in the room she was given that night she thought about what a huge mess she was in. Explaining where she had been the last thirteen years was not a simple task. The clothes she arrived in were unlike anything they had ever seen before, leather pants and a sweater were not casual-chic for the coast of Turkey during this time period. At least not for women. After some hesitation, she told a very abridged version of the truth: that she had been taken away from her family by the gods and that she lost her memory of them but she was given to a good family. She told them the reason she had come back was because she had completed the task set upon her by the gods. Priam and Paris ate it up, Hector was obviously a bit more pragmatic. Either way, all of them seemed like they were willing to let her keep her secrets for the time being.

_I can tell that it's going to be times like this that I really miss Giles,_ Buffy thought as she contemplated what King Priam had told her about what had been going on with her family while she was away.

When he told her that her Father had been killed some time ago, she felt sadness but it was not unbearable. She loved her Father, but he was always away fighting in some war. When she was a child, she and Achilles had a bit of idol worship for him, he would leave for long periods of time but when he came back it was so exciting. There were presents and stories and a lot of merry making, but he always seemed to get bored after a period of time and would leave again.

His death would mean that Achilles finally had what he wanted, the chance to become a great warrior. She closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for him. They had been close siblings and he was more than just a brother to her. He had been a protector, a teacher, and a best friend. If he truly took the mantle of leadership, then his life was in jeopardy and that was much harder for her to accept than her Father's death.

Her Mother had stayed in Larissa, close to Phtia where Achilles had made his home base.

_At least she is near the sea. She's always loved the sea. _Buffy smiled as her hand found the necklace her mother made for her before she had gone. It was funny how it appeared before her at the Temple of Apollo, almost like a welcome home present. Maybe it was a sign that this would be it for her, that her search for peace could finally be over.

_You know what they say though, 'hope is the denial of reality'_ she thought cynically to herself. Old King Priam wasn't telling her everything, she could tell by the disappointment in Paris' eyes when they decided to call it a night and continue their conversation in the morning. Whatever she was going to find out tomorrow was going to be way big.

And she still didn't know what was going on with the Powers . . .

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Breakfast was held in the Kings chambers the next morning. She was the last one to arrive and when they saw her, all conversation was halted.

_Hmm, I wonder who they were talking about,_ she thought.

Hector and Paris stood up as she walked up to the table and waited for her to sit before they resumed their positions. They exchanged greetings and pleasantries while the food was set in front of them.

"I trust you slept well, Laria?" Priam asked.

"I did, thank you. But, like I said last night sir, please call me Buffy. It has been a very long time since I was called Laria, let alone Princess."

"It must have been difficult to hear of your family's fate. Are you well today, Princess?" Paris asked her. She had a feeling that everyone would end up ignoring her request.

"I'm fine, thanks. I do wonder about my brother, but that is something that we can talk about later. Right now, I want to know what you avoided telling me last night."

They all looked a bit surprised that she had caught on to what happened last night, but Priam and Hector were much better at schooling their features than Paris was.

_Although, they could be surprised at the way I just came out and said it. All the ladies I remember seeing here were much better at voicing their thoughts more subtly than anyone back in California. Oh well, at least they won't have to put up with me for long_.

Finally, Hector spoke up, "We are not the only ones who seem to not be telling the whole story, Princess. Perhaps you would like to tell us more about where you have been these past years?"

"We shall discuss that more later . . ." Priam started to say.

"Yeah, slayer, why don't ya tell 'em?" she heard a voice say behind her.

"Whistler," Buffy hissed under her breath as she stood up and covertly grabbed a knife off the table.

"Hiya, kid. Sorry I couldn't stay before, it's just that the priest was coming and I haven't had the best experiences with members of the clergy in the past so . . . yeah."

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" King Priam said.

"Don't worry, it's not you he's after," Buffy informed him.

"I'm not after you either, kid. As far as I'm concerned, you can call this home sweet home. And, in case you were wondering, I came here in front of the royal trio for your benefit. I'm supposed to make your story more believable."

"Don't do me any favors," she told him. Anything involving the Powers, aka 'the god's, that brought Whistler to her could not be of the good.

"Why don't we all sit down and have a little chat. Buffy, you can put the knife down; you have to know by now that it won't be able to kill me."

Deciding that since the fact she had armed herself was out in the open, she brought her hand from behind her back and picked up another knife. Whistler gave her a chiding look and she smiled unrepentantly back at him.

Hector had pulled his sword out and Paris and Priam sat back down at the table.

"Sit down my son. Hermes' patron has much to say to us," Priam said.

Hector grudgingly moved back towards his family, but not before he took one of Buffy's arms to bring her with him. She was not expecting him to do that and pulled her arm from his grasp before she knew what she was doing. She looked at him, startled, and he held out his hand to her. She considered the weapons in her hands, the fact that the only fights she had ever gotten in with Whistler were ones she had started and set one of her weapons down and placed her hand in his.

_Hating the chivalry thing right now. Hating it,_ she thought as they stood behind Priam and Paris.

"Start talking then, if you have so much to say," Buffy demanded. She was tired, so tired, of getting the run around.

"You should talk with more respect to a messenger of the gods, daughter of Artemis," he answered.

When he said that, Priam sat up in surprise and turned toward her.

"My dear girl . . ."

"That would be daughter of Thetis, no-brain, or at the very least Joyce. Artemis, goddess of the hunt, is actually pretty virginal so there's no way that we're related."

Whistler lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "Nice job on the ancient mythos, Buffy. I didn't think you had it in you."

"There was this incident when me, Dawn and Willow walked in on Xander and Anya playing dress up and, well, lets just say that there were a lot of questions to be answered at the end of it all," Buffy explained.

"So if Anya was Artemis, what was Xander? And what were they doing that had to be explained?" Whistler inquired with an evil little smirk.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore; I don't even want to think about it. You and Anya used to be colleagues, use your imagination," her face was turning pink just thinking about the awkwardness of it all.

"That's what they call your kind here, slayer, 'daughter of Artemis'. And because you have to be so contrary all the time, you have found your way back to where you truly belong; the gods have decided to reward you by letting you stay." Whistler said, getting back on track.

"Sure, they'll let me stay here. Until there's another monster that comes along that they can't handle. Then they will tell me that I haven't fulfilled my destiny and that it's my sacred duty to kill whatever demon it is blah, blah, blah," she said as she walked closer to Whistler.

"It's for real this time, kid. You've been through a lot, more than any other of your kind and you've survived longer too. Artemis herself has spoken on your behalf; you are well loved by the gods. And as far as acting as the slayer while you are here, there is another one in this time, in this place. It is no longer your responsibility."

"My hand is getting twitchy, Whistler. What about the next slayer back home? Faith is supposed to be in jail, she can't fight the evil. Do you expect my friends to take this on all by themselves? Do you expect them to keep the hellmouth closed?"

"It's being taken care of. Besides, Faith has seen the error of her ways; she knows what side she belongs on now. As for your friends, you can rest easy. They will all live long, fruitful lives and die of natural causes."

During the conversation, the three most important people in Troy sat back and observed with varying degrees of awe and amazement. Priam looked like he thought she was a blessing from the gods like that priest Lysander had. Paris was looking at her in pretty much the same way, but there was something else in his eyes as well. And Hector, like his Father, knew what it meant to lead, to be face to face with the enemy and have no choice but to fight his way out of it. He actually showed an emotion behind the mask of indifference he usually wore.

Respect.

"I trust you three understand the importance of keeping what you heard today to yourselves. If anyone found out what she is she would be hunted down. The gods would not be pleased, she's one of their favorites," Whistler said seriously.

_One of their favorites to screw around with, at least_.

King Priam and the Princes nodded their heads.

"We would never endanger her, she is as much a Princess of Troy now as she was anywhere else. She will be safe here," Priam answered.

Buffy was strangely comforted by the old man's words. Even though she was more likely to end up protecting him from something in the dark, it was still nice to hear somebody cared enough about her to try to keep her safe. She'd deal with the annoyances of macho men later if she had to. For the time being, she decided to just bask in the warmth of good intentions.

"Well, I gotta get goin' kid. You're not the only one I gotta talk to today. Oh yeah, I meant to tell you, good luck with the wedding. The joining of two nations usually ends up with one helluva party. See ya, kid," he said and then disappeared.

Buffy turned to the people who were left in the room.

"Who's getting married?" she asked.

After a moment of hesitation Hector walked toward her until he was standing directly in front of her.

"We are," he answered softly.

"_We_ are?" she said in shock.

Hector nodded, eyes serious.

_I guess that would constitute 'way big'_.

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As always, please review . . . 


	4. Escape from Troy

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We so are NOT. What the hell? I can't believe this. She took a few deep breaths and tried to think positively._

_It's gonna be ok, I can get out of this. It's been years, everyone thought I was dead, I'm sure this is all just a big mistake and it can get cleared up pronto. Right? Right. Absolutely. I can do this_.

The panic in Buffy's mind postulated for several minutes. Deep breaths had almost no effect in calming her.

It had only been a few moments since she had found out about the whole arranged marriage thing. Priam insisted that the servants come and clear up the food right away which meant that nothing could be discussed until cooler heads prevailed. At least that was what Buffy thought his intentions were. He might be a card carrying zealot when it came to the gods, but people didn't live to be his age in this time without being crafty. Especially if they were a king.

She had a feeling that her disbelief and resentment about the arrangement came out quite clearly when Hector admitted what they had all been trying to conceal. If she had remained with her family the whole arranged marriage thing probably wouldn't have bothered her much, if at all. But she didn't stay here with them, she was forged in an era where these kinds of things only happened in places far away from where she lived and to people she didn't know. This kind of thing just didn't happen to California girls. Period.

The servants left and the silence remained for a beat until Priam stood up and started walking towards her. He took both her hands in his own as if by making some kind of physical contact, he would get through to her better.

_If he only knew how physical I want to get right now._

"I am sure that there are many questions that you have, child, but there is some pressing business that I suddenly have to contend with. Anything you need to know will be answered by my sons. Anything," he said looking directly at Hector. He left the room so swiftly that Buffy couldn't get a word in to tell him what she thought about it. It was actually probably for the best. It had to be too early in the day to insult kings.

She looked over at Paris and Hector who were grinning and scowling respectively.

_If Hector thinks he's in a bad mood, he has no idea how pissed I am right now. I'd totally win a pissed contest. Wait, that didn't come out right . . ._ she thought as she turned her attention back to the matter at hand.

"I don't want answers. I don't care. Hector, you and I are not getting married. It's been years since I went missing, let alone have anyone think I was alive. I'm not stupid; there must be some other woman you have been betrothed to since then. I don't remember much about the politics around here but being a prince of Troy is not a small thing. Even in Larissa I would hear father tell tales about how it has never lost a battle. I want to go home, that's what you all promised me before. That's all I want." Buffy argued before they could speak. She noticed Paris' grin turned into a full blown smile since she had begun talking and tried to glare him out of existence. Somebody needed to show the pipsqueak his place.

"Why do you think Father ran off so quickly? He's sending a messenger to Thebes telling them that Hectors' original suitor has shown up. It's too late now," he added when Buffy headed for the door.

Paris stood up and looked outside, "They are probably already on the water. Poor Andromache will be so torn."

Somehow Buffy didn't believe he was all that upset about it.

"Why would he do that?" Buffy questioned them, "If there is already someone out there willing to be your wife, why would he throw that away for someone who doesn't want it?"

Hector stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. It was going to be difficult for him to tell her his father's motives.

"The god we worship here above all others is Apollo. Artemis is his twin and as one of her daughters, Father believes you to be a fortuitous match. The fact that you and I were betrothed before you were placed in your destiny is seen as a good omen for Troy and its future by my father," Hector explained.

Buffy closed her eyes and sank into the chair behind her. There had to be a way to work around this. She was almost hoping some catastrophe would happen and she would have to run off to save the world. She would be able to handle it better.

Of course, Hector was just doing his duty. It was nothing to him if he married one girl or another; he was going to end up getting married anyway, no matter what. She couldn't help but wonder where his fight was though. It had to gall him just a little bit that his future was being ping ponged around like a video game. He was one of those 'good soldier types' though. If it was good for his people then he would do it, no matter what the consequences were for himself.

_Maybe he's seen this Andromache chic before and she scared him off a bit because she's a cow or something. No, it wouldn't matter if the alliance was good enough,_ she told herself as the internal debate continued.

She was good and stuck. The only thing she knew how to go by here was instinct and her instinct was telling her to fight.

The thing was - how was she supposed to fight a belief system that reinforced a marriage between her and Hector?

* * *

The day did not go well for Buffy at all. No matter what she said to argue her case, there were four more arguments tossed her way to negate them. That night Buffy decided to make a run for it. It wouldn't be the first time she had done it and there sure as hell weren't as many ways for her to be tracked as there were the last time she took off.

A girl came into her room that night and introduced herself as Briseis. She was the cousin of Hector and Paris and had made sure she had a wardrobe made for her as well as a bath waiting for her after her day of politicking. She babbled for a bit about Apollo and how honored she was to meet her and blah blah bliddity blah. As far as yammering went, the Briseis girl ranked a 6.0 on the Willow to Xander scale.

She waited until her internal clock said it was about three in the morning. She tried to get a feel for the place and everyone seemed to be sleeping so she got up and put on a dark blue cloak over her nightdress. It was important that she got out quick, it didn't matter what she was wearing while she was doing it. As a precaution, she packed a bit of food from her tray that was left over and packed another two dresses in a sack. It would take several days to get to Phtia.

She had decided she would go to Achilles first. No matter how much she hated it, he was her guardian now and if she wanted to get out of the mess that had been created in Troy, she needed him. All she had to do was try to convince him that her way was the best way. After all, he'd want some bonding time with his long lost sister.

_And why would I want to deny him my presence?_ Buffy thought fondly.

Once she was ready, she headed toward the side of the wall that was open to the sea. The drop was quite significant if one jumped all the way down to the lower level but if she could climb a bit to the right for about ten feet there was a ledge that she could drop onto not far down. From there she would be able to figure out her next step. At least she'd be a level lower than before.

She slid over the ledge of the balcony and started sliding over. Her cloak made a bit of a swishing noise but the wind should have taken care of any tell-tale noises it made. When she finally passed from her room into the one next to her she noticed her first grievous error. This was one of the prince's rooms and unfortunately she couldn't tell who it belonged to. The sheets were rumpled on the bed but there was no occupant. Luckily, she was in a spot that was somewhat camouflaged from anyone looking out so she didn't figure anyone could see her unless they were I really /I looking for her.

_I'm gonna have to speed things up a bit here_.

She looked around the room one more time from her vantage point just to make sure she had the all clear. Once she had satisfied herself, she looked down at the ledge beneath her and saw that she would have to move over a bit more. Deciding that she was ok, she let go of the ledge only to have someone grab her wrist.

_Shit._

She was completely at the mercy of whoever gripped her wrist; it was the only thing keeping her from falling. As she was dangling there, a list of profanities ran strait through her head.

She looked up and saw that it was Hector.

_Of course, I should have known. Paris never would have been able to hold me so long without dropping me or calling for some help. How the hell did he move so quietly?_

He hefted her into his room but didn't let go of her. In fact, his grip on her was just as tight as it had been when he was pulling her up except now she was in a more embrace-like hold and he had both his arms around her. She could have gotten away from him right then and there but she was going to try for diplomacy first. After the day they just had, it might throw him off course enough to give her something to work with. Unfortunately, before she could open her mouth, Hector spoke up.

"I was under the impression you were against this wedding, Princess, and yet I find you sneaking to my room in the pitch of night? Your actions belie your words, my lady," he said, voice husky with sleep.

_I must have woken the idiot up somehow._

Answering her internal question he said, "Troy gets plenty of wind this time of year. It is easy to tell the difference between what sounds natural and when there is a disturbance is the air. Your new cloak gave you away."

_So much for that,_ Buffy glared at him.

"I wasn't coming to see you. I was just having trouble sleeping and I thought I'd sit out over here."

"And the reason why you happened to appear outside my room?" he prompted.

"The view is nicer over here than by my room," she said, thinking fast.

Hector looked at her, more than skeptical and with a mischievous light in his eyes.

"Right. It couldn't possibly have been that you were going to try to escape and that going this way seemed like the best route, could it? If I were you, I would have gone this way as well."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she bluffed.

"And the sack? What's in there?" he asked grabbing at it. Once he had it he didn't open it but felt the outside of it a bit, trying to guess what was in it just like little kids do to their gifts days before Christmas.

"Nothing, just some essentials a girl should always have on her. You know, a knife, a mirror and a comb."

"Feels more like spare clothes and something else. Food maybe?" he asked with a slight knowing grin on his face.

Buffy could argue that intelligence and the ability to lurk were traits that she admired in a guy, actually traits that were practically must haves, but she was bummed that she didn't get her great escape and was still betrothed to him. She pulled away from him and stormed back to her room.

_Why does the Neanderthal have to be so damned annoying? And why does he have to have such nice arms? Ugh.

* * *

_

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Please do so again. :-)


	5. Visitors in the Night

A/N: Special thanks go out to FaithUnbreakable the ausgezeichnet beta reader for this fic.

A/N2: I just wanted to thank everyone who waited patiently for this chapter. I've been away at a language immersion program and have been unable to update. So anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!

Also - this is the second submission for this chapter. I accidentally left a question for my beta on the original. Not the smartest thing I've ever done but nobody is perfect right? Enjoy . . .

* * *

Buffy had been in Troy for a few weeks. After her failed attempt at an escape, she decided to go about things in a sneakier manner. There were plenty of secret passages around Troy and Briseis had been more than thrilled to show her about them. Unfortunately, there was always a guard around when they were 'sight seeing' and they were usually steered clear from all the . . . interesting places. It was something that earned them a royal eye roll from Buffy every time. As for the secret passages, she stumbled across one of them not too long ago while she was looking for the bathroom. Ever since then, she had made it her secret mission to find more but was only marginally successful.

One of the worst things about being in Troy was that she was getting antsy. Ever since she had been called, she had never gone so long without hunting. She had found that she didn't need as much sleep as she always wished she could have and was up at all hours of the night just waiting to be able to fall asleep.

It didn't help that she wasn't exerting herself at all anymore so her body wasn't tired either. As a result, she was tired and restless during the day and not tired enough and restless at night when she tried to sleep. That was not to mention that on the off chance that she would actually doze off, she would be woken up almost immediately by the dreams. It seemed like it was a condition that was going to stay, even if being the slayer wasn't her responsibility anymore.

She felt only half alive and she was sure she looked it too.

"Good morning Lari . . . er, Buffy" Briseis greeted her brightly. It was time for their walk around the city. Today, Briseis was going to take her back to the Temple of Apollo that she had made her grand arrival in.

Briseis was a talkative girl, probably around sixteen years old, and one of her favorite topics was the gods. She was planning on becoming one of Apollo's priestesses when she was eighteen and talked about him almost non-stop on their way to the Temple. When they got there, Briseis explained what it meant to be one of Apollo's priestesses and Buffy couldn't help but feel like it was the wrong road for this girl to go down. If she was this passionate and enthusiastic about things as a child, then a life of abstinence would not be the right path for her. She was the kind of girl who wanted to know everything, experience everything.

_She still has time to figure out what she wants to do with her life_ Buffy thought, watching the girl wistfully.

Buffy watched Briseis while they were in Apollo's temple and she couldn't help but notice the way that the girl just seemed to frolic everywhere.

_Was I ever that young, that innocent?_

While they were there, Buffy saw Lysander again and was going to talk to him but he walked passed her without acknowledging her. Briseis said that they must have some very important matters to handle because it seemed that everyone in the Temple seemed to get busy at the same time.

The girls, taking the queue that it was time to go, left and on their way back to Troy they saw an unfamiliar ship.

"Do you know of any visitors Priam may be having, Briseis?"

"No, none that have that sail. It could be a messenger from Thebes," she mused.

Buffy's eyebrow rose at that statement. If it was then it might be good news.

_Maybe Hector's new intended won't release him. I can only hope . . .

* * *

_

They had gone for several weeks now without discussing anything of Buffy's past so she was quite shocked to hear a particular question come from Briseis that night while they were in the room Buffy described as the 'living room'. It seemed to be the family' general gathering area.

"What is it like being a Daughter of Artemis Buffy? It must be terribly exciting; you must go on so many adventures. And to think, you actually have a calling, a purpose. You know what your life's meaning is," Briseis said, out of breath.

Buffy choked on the water she was drinking after the first words were out of the girls' mouth and was having trouble getting her breath back. She looked around the room and the other three occupants looked just as surprised as Buffy felt at the inquiry.

"Briseis, you know better than to ask such questions," Priam scolded while at the same time Hector asked "How did you know about that?"

Paris was the only one who stayed quiet during the exchange.

"You all seem to forget I exist at the most convenient of times and I overhear things. And Buffy doesn't mind, do you?" Briseis defended herself.

Thinking that she had gotten off pretty easily by not having to reveal anything before, Buffy didn't think that anyone would ever ask her. It all just seemed very taboo. But she did like Briseis and didn't want her to get in trouble so she decided to divulge a little of her past, if only to keep Briseis' cousins off the girls' back. She noticed that Paris didn't act as though Briseis had done anything wrong and figured he must have been just as curious as the girl.

"It's alright, I don't mind," she said when she got her breath back. She took another drink of water and refilled the cup. When she finished with her task, she noticed that all the attention was centered on her. Even old Priam looked like he was settled in his spot for the night, awaiting the telling of his favorite story. The encouragement she saw in his eyes gave her the confidence she needed to continue.

"Being the Slayer has not been an easy life, Briseis. I have never wanted it but it is a part of who I am and it took me a very long time to accept that. There is a level of excitement to it but there tends to be plenty of excitement in dangerous situations. As far as having a predestined purpose is concerned . . . it's not as great as you would believe. I would have much rather preferred to have the choice of what I would do or be, rather than have it forced on me."

"But you saved people everyday, Buffy. When people were in danger you would go and aid them. How can that be so bad?" Paris interrupted.

She looked at him for a second surprised. He hadn't talked to her since the day she found out about the betrothal and with good reason. She spat out plenty of threats that day. She was also shocked because of the vehemence in his voice. For someone who was so adamant about her destiny, he sure as hell wasn't making any steps into following his own, let alone creating one for himself.

"Is that really what you think its like?" she asked. Even Priam, the one who should be the most knowledgeable in the room look confused.

"There is much more to it than that. I was called when I was younger than Briseis is now. I lived a normal life, I didn't know what lurked in the darkness and then one day I was told that I was going to be hunted down like a dog for the rest of my life until something finally got to me and killed me. All simply because I was born. Where I came from, wars are not fought the same way they are here. It's very different, there's not as much physical contact. I didn't live the kind of life that would prepare me for fighting or battle and it was all heaped on me in one moment. And I I was /I hunted," she trailed off.

The little encyclopedia of information on the gods, aka Briseis, spoke up then, "But you had help though didn't you? I heard that the Daugh . . . Slayer has many companions. At least you had some one to protect you."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"The person you're talking about is called a Watcher. There is one Watcher to every Slayer, he guides and trains her but is supposed to keep out of the fighting and record the events that the Slayer participates in. There are more Watchers but they are not involved with the Slayer," Buffy said, keeping the rest of it a secret. There was a reason the average Joe didn't know this stuff.

"They are known as the Sons of Apollo here. They are supposed to be very learned and be able to interpret the meanings of prophecy," Priam added.

Buffy responded by getting up and walking to the terrace for fresh air. She'd had enough for the night.

Hectors' eyes followed her as she walked away, filled with questions. He could see that discussing the Watchers made Buffy uncomfortable but he couldn't figure out why. It brought out a vulnerability to her that was endearing but at the same time, he thought there might be bad feelings between her and the 'Watchers'. This discussion was at an end though so he would just have to wait to find out his answers. That was okay though, he decided. He was a patient man. They would eat their last meal of the day and the answers he longed for would come to him soon enough.

* * *

As usual, Buffy was placed right next to Hector at the table. Every night he tried to get her into some kind of conversation to get to know her better but this night he held off. The discussion they had earlier was still fresh in all their minds and he was a more quiet and contemplative sort than say . . . Briseis.

The only thing that was even mildly interesting that night was that Paris was missing. Apparently this was not an unusual occurrence but it was the first time that it had happened while Buffy had been there. She asked where he had gone, not because she cared about the little runt but because she was a bit paranoid tonight. She felt like she had just layed herself wide open and wanted to keep an eye on everyone who knew the most about the juicy details of her life. The fact that Paris was not somebody she completely liked or trusted added a bit to her distress.

No one answered her. There were a few veiled glances but anyone who truly knew where he was at or what he was doing didn't feel like sharing.

_Damn it. I can't believe that I did this to myself, _she thought wearily.

Hector had picked up on her agitation and did something that she thought was completely forward for him. The others were leaving and after Hector helped her up he didn't let go of her hand. Instead, he placed it on his arm and started to escort her toward her rooms. When they got there he followed her just inside the door.

_I hope he isn't expecting a goodnight kiss,_ Buffy thought bemusedly.

Hector looked down at her for a moment and she could see in his eyes that he had just made his mind up about something.

"Paris would never betray your trust," he said, "it's just that he was occupied with other matters tonight. It has nothing to do with you and normally I wouldn't speak of such matters to a princess but I don't want you to worry when there is no cause for it."

_Curiouser and curiouser,_ Buffy thought with a searching look on her face.

She had to admit she was surprised he knew what was going on in her head. Maybe it was a warrior thing though. She had just made herself vulnerable in a way. They all now knew things about her that only a very select group of individuals ever knew before.

"What are you talking about Hector? And what do you mean you wouldn't talk about this to a princess . . . oh . . ._ oh_. Who is she?"

"It matters not. It is something that happens quite frequently though. There has been a bit of excitement going on as of late and he has been distracted. I think that he's just getting back into his old routine."

That said, Hector bent down and kissed her cheek before leaving.

_I guess he got his goodnight kiss anyway. Not the kind I was thinking of before but . . . bad Buffy!_

Buffy's mind was conflicted. She liked Hector, she really did. He was everything she would normally want in a guy. It was just that everyone acted like she didn't have a choice in the matter and she knew that they were basically right. The modern woman in her was screaming out because of the injustice of it all. As she was walking towards her bedroom she felt something. She was being watched. As naturally as she could, she made a small detour to the washing area where the intruder was. She silently slipped the dagger she had on her from beneath her sleeve and whipped around to put it at the man's neck.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she demanded.

As she looked at him she thought she recognized something in him, something familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"My name is Phoibos. I am here on a rather important matter actually. One that concerns you."

She was looking at him with skepticism when suddenly it came to her. She was so surprised that she released and backed away from him.

"You," she hissed emphatically, "what the hell are you doing here?"

_I knew they couldn't let me be for long. I knew it._

"Don't worry Buffy," a familiar voice spoke, "he's nothing like the other Watcher's we've dealt with. He actually seems reasonable."

Despite the situation, Buffy couldn't help a wry grin from appearing on her face.

"Yeah, well that didn't keep you from hooking up with Wesley did it?" Buffy teased. Oh how she had missed being able to do that without someone freaking out.

* * *

Well, I hope you weren't disappointed. Constructive criticism and comments are most welcome! 


	6. Expectations

Expectations

* * *

Special thanks go out to my Beta FaithUnbreakable whose comments and suggestions not only improve the qualitiy of this fic, but my ability as a writer as well.

* * *

Buffy woke the next morning with a feeling of surrealism. On her way to the eating hall she began to mentally chew over everything that happened the night before but Briseis interrupted her musings.

"Good morning to you Buffy! Did you hear about the guests we have . . ." Buffy tuned her out before she really got started.

What she really wanted to say was 'Yes Briseis, I probably know more about them than you ever will.' It was not a good morning for her at all.

They entered the room last but nearly everyone ignored them. That wasn't saying much though since this was going to be a private breakfast. No politicians or military people here today. Nope, just the family, herself and the newbies. The only ones who looked over to her and Briseis were Hector and the new arrivals.

As Buffy took her seat next to Hector she looked at the people sitting across from her and said, "I was hoping last night was a nightmare but I guess I'm not that lucky."

"Oh please. I so am not in the mood for 'poor me Buffy' right now. I want the 'there's a bad guy out there and I'm gonna kick his ass' Buffy. Or have you gone soft?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy rolled her eyes and noted the expressions of confusion around her. Peaking over to her left she saw that Hector was not immune to the affliction. Even though he had seen the pair in her room the night before – he was very sensitive to any noise coming from the vicinity of her room since her failed escape attempt – he only had minimal knowledge of their relationship. She had told him just enough to get him to leave them alone last night. Anyway, by the time he had arrived she had already heard the bare bones about why Cordelia and Phoibus were there and was content to hear the rest of it the next day. The two of them seemed exhausted last night no matter how much they tried to hide it. Must have been a long journey.

"I see that you have already acquainted yourself with our guests, Princess?" King Priam said at the same time that Cordelia snorted.

"You could say that," Buffy said drolly.

At that, Priam began the introductions. Apparently the Watcher was honest about who he was and Cordelia was introduced as being 'favored by the gods'.

_I wonder if that's the new hot trend this year,_ Buffy mused silently.

"It seems as though we have been doubly blessed as of late. This seems to be one of your comrades, does it not Princess?" Paris interjected. He tended to use filler or 'no shit Sherlock' phrases from time to time.

Before Buffy could say anything Cordelia interjected.

"I can't believe that you are actually a Princess. I mean, if anyone came from peasant stock I would have definitely pegged you for it. Seriously, if anyone was going to be royalty in a past life you'd naturally think it would be me, not you." Cordelia raised a perfectly tweezed eyebrow at Buffy waiting for her reply.

"Still walking in my shadow Cordelia? How sad. It really is time for you to move on, it's been a long time since we've seen each other. Word before I left was that you're an Ascended Being now . . . and you're still wishing you were more like me? This is something you really need to work on." Buffy said with obviously fake concern and empathy.

There was a moment of shocked silence from the other people in the room and Buffy and Cordelia used it to observe them. After they were done waiting for some kind of reaction (which never came) they looked at each other and burst out laughing.

They had both been without Scooby-like banter for way too long.

* * *

The rest of the morning went by without a hitch. Buffy and Cordelia sat in the living room and shared some shop talk but not much else. There were too many things going on that were more important than them. Besides, Buffy had learned how to get to Cordelia without getting irritated herself and she thought she had gotten on all of Cordelias nerves that were gettable. The girl was positively twitchy.

Anyway, Buffy had found out that there was a hellmouth that was about to be unleashed and the only person defending it was a Slayer who had been called only two months ago. She was getting the details from Cordelia when Phoibus walked over from the dais where everyone else was and interrupted their conversation.

"You're having the dreams that are so common for your kind aren't you? And that's not the only reason you're not sleeping well is it?" It was obvious that the Watcher was intimating to the effects her unused slaying energy was having on her.

At this statement Briseis asked, "What dreams?" but she was ignored. Priam shushed her and it seemed like Hector and Paris were just going to watch the show.

At his question Buffy looked down at her hands and did the only thing she could think of: deny, deny, deny.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You are utterly predictable!" Cordelia exploded.

She threw her hands up in the air, stood up and started pacing a bit around the room. "It's always like this with you – when things get hard you make sure that you take everything into yourself because you can't stand for anyone to think you're weak. This so reminds me of the summer after you defeated the Master."

"I do _not_ want to talk about that. That has nothing to do with what is going on here." Buffy said while getting out of her own seat to pace around the room.

"It has everything to do with this. You want to make everyone believe that you can handle anything but you can't and what you're fighting now is your nature. You're going to get this girl killed because of your insecurities. And ya know what - nobody is demanding anything of you. They're asking. For the life of me though, I don't know why anyone would think you're so special." Cordelia could never help but add in a dig when talking about or to Buffy.

Buffy smirked. When had she ever said that she wouldn't help the girl? They had expected her to fight with them so they were reacting to her accordingly. Buffy didn't honestly want to have to do this but her body was demanding it of her.

She couldn't help but wonder if her recent restlessness and jitters were a result of her calling or because there was an immediate threat that needed to be taken care of and she was just responding. The summer she had run away she didn't feel so much of a need to patrol, to fight. If it was just because of this new threat, she was going to be vastly relieved. The thought of being free of her calling but never able to enjoy it was foreboding to her state of mind to say the least. She could handle periodic disasters that the Slayer in her needed to conquer, she couldn't handle a lifetime of feeling the way she had been feeling the last few weeks.

For now though, she was going to play along with whatever game was being played.

"Hell yeah I'm special! So are you . . . we're special just like everyone else. You can't tell me that you're really jealous of me. Do you honestly think I want this kind of attention?"

"Ha!" Cordelia exclaimed, "You're looking at an Ascended Being honey. I have no jealousy issues. You on the other hand have had some problems with that in the past. I seem to remember reading something about you having a problem with something going on between Carla and . . ."

_Okay, we're getting way too off topic here. And too personal_. Buffy's frantic mind thought.

Buffy could actually feel Hector stiffen in his seat at what Cordelia was implying and decided to bring an end to that line of conversation before it became too complicated.

"Her name was Darla thank you very much and no I didn't. And where did you read that anyway?" Buffy interrupted while trying to divert a 'situation'. She didn't know Hector all that well yet and she was pretty sure that he was level headed enough to not overreact about her past relationships but she didn't want to advertise them if she didn't have to. It was just bad betrothal manners. She did note his reaction to Cordelia intimating over her romantic history though and was going to examine it later.

"Watcher diaries. Phoibus has all of yours, I wanted to see what Giles had written about me so I flipped through some of them."

"Let's get back on track," Buffy said, "how old did you say this girl was again?"

"How is that relevant?" asked Phoibus calmly while setting down the remains of a piece of fruit he had eaten.

Buffy's eyes narrowed as she glared at him from her place by the balcony and started walking back toward the table. The day had started badly and it hadn't gotten any better. Phoibus was just being to damn Watcher-y at the moment for Buffy to be able to deal with.

* * *

Hector saw the way she stalked over and decided that some action needed to be taken. She looked like a predator on the hunt – things weren't looking so good for Phoibus in his opinion. He saw that the woman who just arrived had the same idea and she was already intercepting the path Buffy was heading in to get to the Watcher.

Buffy saw Cordelia and Hector but she was so incensed at the Watcher that it didn't really register to her what they might have been up to. As she was going past Hector he placed a hand on her shoulder and stopped her progress. He had noticed a long time ago that she always seemed to be a bit surprised when he touched her and she started enough for him to take advantage of the situation. The hand he placed on her shoulder swiftly glided down her arm to grip her wrist while the other maneuvered her in front of him and he took her other hand. He wrapped his arms around her so they were in a sort of backwards hug – her back to his chest while his arms and her own were wrapped around herself.

He knew that being the Slayer meant she was incredibly strong but he couldn't help but notice how fragile she felt in his arms. He too, had noticed the dark smudges beneath her eyes and that she hadn't been eating very much. He had been sending servants to her room with extra trays of food to her rooms but it didn't seem to have much, if any, effect on her appetite. He had been informed that she always left them untouched.

Earlier he had wondered about the inquiries that Phoibus had made about Buffy's everyday activities and health but hadn't thought much about it until he mentioned the slayer dreams to her.

_That is definitely something we are going to have to talk about later,_ he thought grimly.

He could literally feel Buffy calming herself down in his arms. She wasn't struggling before but he could feel her body still as she reigned in her anger. She took a deep breath and he let his arms fall but she didn't move from where she was standing.

"You said he was different from the others but I don't see it," she said to Cordelia. "He seems like all the others to me, I can hear them now: 'the Slayer is nothing more than a tool', 'one dies next one's called', 'the Mission comes first'. That's why the Cruciamentum exists isn't it? That fun little test that she's going to be subjected to when she turns eighteen?"

After a pause, Cordelia seemed to gather her wits about her more – it didn't seem like Buffy was gonna get into her 'all Watchers must have their booty kicked' mode just yet and she had to adjust her thinking process from 'fight or flight' to logical reasoning. Sometimes she hated the responsibility and maturity that her new calling demanded of her.

"Okay, let's go back to the land of reality and not think about the stuffy old Watchers and the way _they_ handle things. Let's think about what is important here. There's a girl waiting for someone to help her or in eight months she will, she _will_ die. There's not a snowballs chance in hell that she'll make it but if you are anything Buffy, you're a survivor. You can help teach her what she needs to know at the very least. What do you say?"

Buffy ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She could feel the tension rolling off Hector in waves and everyone in the room had their eyes on her waiting for her decision. Honestly, did they really believe she would just let a little girl die?

"What do you think?" she asked quietly and walked out of the room.

* * *

Well, the school year has begun and this is my last one folks. I'm so excited . . . not that you care but I just found out I'm graduating in May and I have to tell everyone. Anyway, please review my fic. I'd love to know what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

"Listen to this, you're never gonna believe what he said here," Buffy yelled in Cordelia's direction.

They were leaving within the month so Buffy could meet and help prepare the new Slayer. When she asked why it was going to take so long, Phoibus replied in a snarky tone that there were things that needed to be done in order to prepare for their journey and that they couldn't just push off.

In the mean time, Buffy and Cordelia were perusing Giles' inner musings.

King Priam had suggested that if they were going to go through the Watcher Journals that the rest of the 'family' be present. They had not learned very much about Buffy in the time she had been in Troy and when he heard the occasional laughter coming from her rooms, he put his plan into action. Obviously the girls were not laughing merely at tales of battle. No, not at all. Buffy was finally opening up a bit and he wanted his son to be there to see it happen.

Not only would they learn more about his new daughter to be, but he would also find out more about what it meant to be Artemis' servant. Indeed, that was something he and Briseis were particularly interested in.

"What is it?" Cordelia asked while she and others came closer to hear the women tell yet another tale.

"Remember the whole 'cheerleading' incident I had right after I moved to Sunnydale?"

"How could I forget? You completely humiliated yourself and alienated the rest of the people trying out!" Cordelia said, all the while glaring holes in Buffy.

Hector and Paris looked at Buffy amusedly as she shifted uncomfortably under their gaze.

"I was not the one alienating anyone, fluff for brains! That was Amy's mom," Buffy corrected. "Anyhow, Giles made a comment earlier on when I just started that he thought cheerleading was a cult and I didn't take him seriously. I thought he was just being Giles, ya know? Well, he really went in depth on it here and he was even looking up different cults that go back as far as 2000 years BCE. Can you believe this? Listen to what he has to say about us:

_ I have become quite concerned as of late as to how my Slayer has been behaving. She does not seem to have the focus that is needed to survive and she has become enthralled in a foolish activity at her school. This cheerleading commotion, she says is to make her feel as if she is a normal girl, but I am more concerned about her behavior since she began this nonsense. She has become more and more erratic and competitive with the other girls involved._

_ I sense that this has something to do with the childish rivalry she has going on with another girl that goes by the name of Cordelia. Apparently, they used to be very much alike and Buffy is feeling the loss of the way she lived her life before and what her duty is now. However unhealthy I think it is for Buffy to engage in such frivolity with other students, I cannot help but be even more concerned than would be normal for the situation. There is something odd about the way the girls competing to get on what they call the 'squad'. I am not quite sure what is happening to them yet but girls seem to be facing strange fates that lead them to be disqualified and that has me worried about my Slayer. Her emotional state at this moment is quite fragile and I fear if she is rejected it would crush her more than we can know. _

At this, Buffy snorted indelicately and noticed that Hector was watching her intently. He saw her eyes had gone in his direction and lifted one side of his mouth in a kind of half-smile.

Paris was leaning back with his eyes closed and Priam and Briseis were playing some kind of game while listening. Cordelia was rummaging through another chest while she listened but Hector was the only one who was focusing all his attention on her. It made her a little antsy but she continued reading.

_ The problem is that I am quite certain that she will be rejected. The way the girls are getting systematically disqualified and what is happening to them has me worried that this is more than just a mere cheerleading squad. I am almost certain that there are malevolent forces of nature at work here and that these girls are actually showing their worth to a cult through physical exercises and that this girl, Cordelia, is the cult leader. I will be looking into this issue more intensely as Willow has printed out some information for me off that infernal contraption . . . _

"He so totally needs to get that stick that's been permanently lodged up his ass removed! Cult leader! I can't believe that he called me a cult leader!" Cordelia exclaimed looking rather affronted.

Buffy smiled.

"Really? I can totally see it."

"I think I could probably see it, too." Hector added in a mock serious voice as he walked over to stand beside Buffy and considered Cordelia.

Cordelia and Buffy looked at him in shock. It didn't help when Phoibus and a soldier came in the room. Phoibus was obviously ready to talk business and so was the soldier. He went over to Priam and bowed before telling him that there was an urgent military matter to discuss.

* * *

Priam patted Paris on the arm and the three of them walked towards the exit. Before Hector left, he placed his hand on Buffy's shoulder pulling her towards him, and bent down and gave her a peck on the lips. He walked swiftly out of the room without looking back but he knew that Buffy's eyes followed his every step. He left smiling.

"This could be quite advantageous to creating peace between Troy and Sparta," Priam said.

"His brother has been trying to destroy us for year's father. Are you sure that this is wise?" asked Hector. Peace was the most important thing to Hector but he did not wish to be taken for a fool. To enter into any agreement with Menalaus was not something to be taken lightly.

"How can we achieve peace between Sparta and Troy if we don't make any kind of effort to build one?" Paris asked while taking a sip of his drink.

"Paris is right, Hector. The two of you will leave before the week is out. I have tried for many years to gain this alliance and the time is near at hand. I need my sons to go to Sparta and protect this peace."

Sometimes his father and Paris were so alike that it was difficult for Hector to be around them, especially in times like this. It was not as if he did not want to make an effort to have peace, but these kinds of negotiations were difficult enough without having an overly optimistic tint to the situation. He did not wish to be such a cynical man but there simply had to be someone who would be thinking about what would happen if they were double crossed.

"There is a problem that arises from you leaving though, my son." Priam said looking directly at Hector.

"What is that, father?" Hector asked before he could think of the obvious answer. He realized what the problem was only a moment before his brother voiced it.

"Buffy will leave after we have gone!" Paris said while sitting up, an animated look on his face.

"You will marry informally before she leaves. We will keep the situation quiet, however, and have a more traditional wedding between the two of you after she returns. If the people know that their Prince has married and there has been no public celebration for the occasion, it will not bode well for her acceptance. They will not understand that she had no choice but to leave during the time right after the marriage and they will spurn her or pity you for it and that is not acceptable."

That said, Priam left the room presumably to make preparations for Hector and Buffy.

"So," Paris began while looking at the stunned silence Hector seemed to be caught in, "who will tell your bride?"

Hector snapped out of his reverie and glared at his brother and Paris decided to leave the room and Hector to his thoughts.

* * *

"Briseis, I think it would be a good idea if you left us to talk." Buffy said when Phoibus walked into the room, sat down, and remained silent.

_He is such an ass,_ Buffy thought.

"But I want to know what . . ." Briseis began but gave up on that method of attempting to stay when Buffy gave her a decidedly pointed look. She slowly got up and walked with visible reluctance out of the room.

"What is it that you want Watcher-boy?" Buffy asked as she folded her arms across her chest.

"I have more information about the prophecy. We must leave a bit earlier than we thought before. I will discuss things with Priam and see if we can leave within the next few days. The girl needs more training than you would have been able to give her before." he answered crisply.

"Yeah, it's obvious she needs training but what difference does a week or two make?" Cordelia asked irritatedly. She liked Troy.

"Fine." Buffy cut in, "I didn't exactly relish the thought of waiting around anyway. The wait is always worst part. When are we leaving?"

"As soon as is possible. We haven't any time to waste."

Just then King Priam walked into the room.

"You cannot leave before this week is out, of that there is no doubt." He told Phoibus.

"These are matters that are beyond the comprehension of one such as you. We will be leaving at the soonest moment possible," Phoinus said in a condescending tone as he stood up from his seat obviously aggravated. His hands were fisted at his sides and his face was red.

Priam merely lifted an eyebrow and continued.

"Obviously there is much that I do not know about my daughter and what she does for the gods, but you will not be able to leave if you were planning on doing so before this week is over. Remember whose city you are in, Phoibus, and behave accordingly. If I do not wish you to leave yet, you will not."

_Whoa, can't say as I've ever really seen him act more like a King than I did just now. Something must be up . . ._

"What is going on? Why can't we leave this week?" Buffy asked.

To this he looked at Buffy with a serene smile on his face. He walked over to her and placed a hand on each of her shoulders so he could have her complete attention as he spoke to her.

"Because, my dear, you must marry my son this week," he said gently and hugged her.

Buffy was frozen in place. She couldn't move away at all. She just stood there and let herself be held because she simply couldn't do anything else.


	8. Exodus

A/N: I am not an expert on ancient greek/Trojan/roman weddings. I did some research on the matter and took the elements from it that I wanted and played with them to make it what it is. I hope you like it.

Buffy thought of her wedding in a daze. She was currently on a boat headed to some unpronounceable place and hanging her head over the side trying not to vomit. She didn't know for sure if it was because of seasickness or because of the fact that now, for all intents and purposes, she was a married lady. She didn't really fight too hard against the wedding because she didn't know if she would be coming back. This was going to be her first apocalypse sans Scoobies and that frightened her, especially because she was going to be responsible for a little girl. A little celebration before she left didn't seem too horrific, even if it was her own wedding.

It really was well done for the amount of time Priam had to get it organized. It was a very quiet ceremony in Apollo's temple with a few priests and priestesses around to make it happen. Very secret, very fast, very efficient.

No wonder Priam was king.

It was a bit strange as far as weddings went. At one point in time, Hector was holding one of her arms and Priam was holding the other. They were both sort of tugging on her but Priam wasn't tugging that hard. After all, he was acting as her father in her own father's stead and that part of the ceremony was used to symbolize the father letting go of being the most important man in his daughter's life. In fact, the more Buffy thought about it, he was barely even gripping her before Hector pulled her over to him and enveloped her in his arms. He kissed the top of her head and then pushed her away to arms length.

It was then that the most difficult part of the ceremony happened for her. Both of them were required to give up things from their childhood to show that that part of their lives was over. Hector gave the priest a figurine in the shape of a horse. She could tell it had been well used as a toy and by the way he looked at it as he gave it up, she could tell it had a lot of sentimental value to him.

Buffy had nothing to give but her necklace. Her only tie to her childhood, her family. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, handing it over to the priest but when it was done it didn't seem to hurt as much as she thought it would. It left a dull ache in her chest but it was bearable. She had so many other things to worry about; she didn't have time to be thinking so much about a piece of jewelry.

After the ceremony, there was a limited amount of time left before Phoibus wanted to leave. All she would need for their journey was already packed away and in the ship so she was free until they left. It was kind of decided, by default, that Buffy and Hector would spend those moments alone.

Paris sent Hector a slightly leering glance as he left and as a result, Hector smacked his head before he was able to head back to the city.

That left him, Buffy and the shore.

It was a nice walk. They were both pretty nervous about their new status in each others life so they were pretty quiet and when they did say something, it usually came out halted and hesitant. What they were able to say went along the lines of 'please be careful', 'don't get dead', etcetera. Once they reached the corner of the beach where it would be their last chance to say goodbye in privacy, Hector had stopped her and turned her to face him.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He looked searchingly into her eyes for a moment before angling his head down and brushing his lips against hers. She inhaled a sharp breath and pulled away in surprise but he followed her and kissed her more deeply. He reached down and pulled her up into his arms. Buffy's feet were dangling above the ground and she found she had one arm curled around his neck while her other hand was in his hair. Too soon, Hector pulled away from her. They were both breathless as they looked at one another in a new light.

They were husband and wife. They were just kissing like they were actually newlyweds who were truly in love with one another.

She knew it was a lie. But it was a beautiful lie and Hector seemed to be better able to convince himself of it than she was. It was so hard for her to believe in much of anything anymore.

"Do not fear what you do not know. You will be back to Troy sooner than you know, I'm sure of it," Hector said quietly.

Buffy touched her fingers to her lips as Hector brought his hand to her face, gently stroking her hair out of her eyes.

"How do you know I'm afraid of anything? What if I don't come back when I'm done? I've tried to leave before," she said. She was doing anything to deny what she was feeling. It seemed like just the ceremony of getting married to him made him more important to her and she wanted to push away those feelings as quickly as painlessly as she could.

It was too bad that Hector was such an insightful man.

Hector took her into his arms again. "You are my wife now and this is your home. You haven't tried to leave since you first came to be here. You will survive and you will come home. This is something that I know. Apollo will bless you in this way," he whispered close to her ear, absolutely sure of what he was saying.

"I know you believe in the gods but I've never known you to speak of them like this before. You're always looking for real proof, not stuff like bird signs," she whispered back.

He kissed her gently on the mouth one last time and that was it. No more words were spoken between them.

And then she was gone.

The voyage took eight days. Cordy was ready to leave right away and did a bit of teasing about how there was no wedding night. It was awful actually, she was downright raunchy. Either Phoibus was very naïve or he was ignoring them. When she finally saw land again Buffy almost cried with relief. Cordelia plus seasickness equaled bad bad things.

Phoibus took her and Cordelia through town to get to the house where the slayer was. When they got to the outside of it, Cordelia stopped her and gave Phoibus a look that he was obviously able to interpret but left Buffy confused. He walked in the door and left the two girls to their own devices.

"I have to go now Buffy. There's not much I can really say, just be careful with this girl. She's been poorly treated in the past so she kind of just shuts down sometimes," Cordelia said.

Buffy nodded. She knew that Cordelia wasn't there to stay. The way that she arrived kind of gave that away. Still, she was surprisingly sad to see her go.

"Well, it was nice having someone here from home for a little while. Even if it was just you," Buffy said nonchalantly.

Cordelia crossed her arms and stepped back.

"We're not going to like, hug now or anything, are we?" she asked.

Buffy's eyebrows shot up. "God no!"

"Great, be safe. See ya later," Cordelia said and turned around to walk off.

Buffy swallowed and then hesitantly asked, "Cordy?"

"Yeah?" The seer stopped and faced Buffy once more. They stayed like that, just looking at each other, for a long moment, before both girls moved forward and hugged. It was quick and awkward and it meant the world to Buffy. After that, Cordy beat a hasty retreat.

"Bye," Buffy said quietly and stared in her direction until she couldn't see her anymore. She knew the walking off part was just a hoax and that she would probably disappear once she went around the corner but she still had to look after her until she was gone from her view.

She was all alone again. Just the way a slayer should be. She hated that she had to watch the same thing happen to this girl. With that thought, Buffy finally turned around and headed for the shabby looking house behind her.

I No matter what happens, some things will always stay the same … /I

Working with the girl was tough. It had been a month and they barely had any time left before they had to fight the big bad. At first, every time Buffy acted like she was going to attack her she did exactly what Cordelia said she would. She shut down, she made herself small and she covered her head. She had been badly abused in the past. Luckily they had been able to work past that and she was now at the fighting level Buffy had been at when she was first called. If Neola let her instincts take over then she would be okay. The problem was that she had been so beaten down her entire life that she had almost no confidence.

She could fight if she didn't have to think about getting approval.

There was also something else that Buffy had found out about Neola that was quite interesting indeed. She was Phoibus' little sister. For some reason that made a difference to her in the way she thought of him. Sure, he was an annoying hardass. But he had been subjected to the same things Neola had been until he went off to be Watcher-y. He never said anything but Buffy could tell he never thought that his parents would hurt her. Some part of his brain thought that because she was a girl, they wouldn't hit her.

It didn't surprise Buffy to learn that after he had come home from his training that both his parents had mysteriously died. No one in town acted like anything was wrong on that front either. They didn't shun him or anything. Made a girl wonder just what kind of people they must have been to not have an entire community care about or investigate their deaths.

But Neola was ready now. They were going to be heading off to a small uninhabited island not far from Sparta to prepare for the upcoming battle and Buffy was making mental notes about how she thought they should go about things. From what Phoibus had told her, there was some kind of an altar in a cave on the east coast of the island that held the objects that needed to be destroyed in order to avert the apocalypse. That was the easy part. She knew that there had to be more than one entrance to the cave and if she could just get Neola a little bit more comfortable fighting, they might be able to go in from different angles and cover more ground to finding it. The hard part was that it was guarded by three demons that were more than capable of taking them out. They'd been used as assassins long before they'd been used as security guards and they would be itching for a fight. She'd try to protect Neola as best she could but somebody had to get to the altar, which had to be their main priority.

That was the next phase of the deal – getting the trinkets on the altar back to Phoibus so he could do his thing and destroy them. He was either going to send them to the underworld or bury them under the ground and do some ritual or both. She wasn't really sure. When it stopped being her thing and started being his thing she kind of stopped paying attention to what he was saying.

Neola got a kick out of that. She had never seen anyone be anything less than respectful to her brother and was too young to remember him as a boy. That anyone would give him his attitude right back was a surprise to Neola and made them an instant winner in the girls' book. Buffy tried to tell herself not to get attached but she was so dang lovable that she just couldn't help herself. That only made her train her harder, longer. It was a way to distance herself into becoming only the teacher, not the friend. It was going to be one hell of a trip, that was all that she knew.

Neola came into Buffy's bedroom as she was sharpening her weapons.

"I am ready for what's coming, Buffy. We will both survive this. I know it is not yet my time for the gods would not have sent you to help me if it were," Neola said quietly. She had just gotten ready for bed and her hair was laying in rust colored locks down her back.

Buffy walked toward her and knelt down so they would be eye to eye. She smiled as she looked at the girl. She was just too young.

"You're right. It's not your time. You're going to be just fine. Now hurry off to bed, we have a long trip coming. And don't forget to tie your hair back!" she called as Neola ran off to bed.

Buffy sighed and sat back down at the table. Tomorrow they would be leaving again, this time to face the end of the world.

_Well, if I look on the bright side, if I die it will be the last time I'll ever have to be on the water. _


End file.
